MedicineNet.com
About Us | Privacy Policy | Site Map
February 9, 2010
MedicineNet home Picture Slideshows Diseases and conditions Symptoms and signs Procedures and tests Medications Picture Image Collection MedTerms medical dictionary Pet Health
Font Size
A
A
A


Heart Transplant

Medical Author: Michael C. Fishbein, MD
Medical Editor: Jay W. Marks, MD

Introduction to heart transplant

The idea of replacing a bad organ with a good one has been documented in ancient mythology. The first real organ transplants were probably skin grafts that may have been done in India as early as the second century B.C. The first heart transplant in any animal is credited to Vladimer Demikhov. Working in Moscow in 1946, Demikhov switched the hearts between two dogs. The dogs survived the surgery. The first heart transplant in human beings was done in South Africa in 1967 by Dr. Christiaan Barnard; the patient only lived 18 days. Most of the research that led to successful heart transplantation took place in the United States at Stanford University under the leadership of Dr. Norman Shumway. Once Stanford started reporting better results, other centers started doing heart transplants. However, successful transplantation of a human heart was not ready for widespread clinical application until medications were developed to prevent the recipient from "rejecting" the donor heart. This happened in 1983 when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a drug called cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral). Before the advent of cyclosporine, overall results of heart transplant were not very good.

What is a heart transplant?

Believe it or not, heart transplantation is a relatively simple operation for a cardiac surgeon. In fact, the procedure actually consists of three operations.

The first operation is harvesting the heart from the donor. The donor is usually an unfortunate person who has suffered irreversible brain injury, called "brain death". Very often these are patients who have had major trauma to the head, for example, in an automobile accident. The victim's organs, other than the brain, are working well with the help of medications and other "life support" that may include a respirator or other devices. A team of physicians, nurses, and technicians goes to the hospital of the donor to remove donated organs once brain death of the donor has been determined. The removed organs are transported on ice to keep them alive until they can be implanted. For the heart, this is optimally less than six hours. So, the organs are often flown by airplane or helicopter to the recipient's hospital.

The second operation is removing the recipient's damaged heart. Removing the damaged heart may be very easy or very difficult, depending on whether the recipient has had previous heart surgery (as is often the case). If there has been previous surgery, cutting through the scar tissue may prolong and complicate removal of the heart.

The third operation is probably the easiest; the implantation of the donor heart. Today, this operation basically involves the creation of only five lines of stitches, or "anastomoses". These suture lines connect the large blood vessels entering and leaving the heart. Remarkably, if there are no complications, most patients who have had a heart transplant are home about one week after the surgery. The generosity of donors and their families makes organ transplant possible.

Picture of the Heart and Great Vessels in Heart Transplant


Picture of the Heart in the Pericardial Sac


Picture of the Interior of the Heart in the Paricardial Sac



Next: Who needs a heart transplant? »

Printer-Friendly Format  |  Email to a Friend


Suggested Reading by Our Doctors
MedicineNet Doctors
  • mycophenolate mofetil hydrochloride-injection, Cellcept - Consumer information about the medication MYCOPHENOLATE MOFETIL HYDROCHLORIDE - INJECTION (Cellcept), includes side effects, drug interactions, recommended dosages, and storage information. Read more about the prescription drug MYCOPHENOLATE MOFETIL HYDROCHLORIDE - INJECTION.
  • Questions To Ask Before Surgery - Surgery questions to ask prior to having a procedure are important. Your surgeon should be available to answer your surgery questions prior to the procedure.
  • Congestive Heart Failure - Read about congestive heart failure symptoms like fatigue, abdomen, leg and ankle swelling, shortness of breath, sleeplessness, increased urination, nausea, abdominal pain, and decreased appetite.

Latest Medical News



Women's Health

Find out what women really need.


Are you Depressed? Take the Quiz

Your Guide to Symptoms & Signs: Pinpoint Your Pain



Heart Transplant

What is shock?

Shock is a life-threatening medical condition whereby the body suffers from insufficient blood flow throughout the body. Shock often accompanies severe injury or illness. Medical shock is a medical emergency and can lead to other conditions such as lack of oxygen in the body's tissues (hypoxia), heart attack (cardiac arrest) or organ damage. It requires immediate treatment as symptoms can worsen rapidly.

Medical shock is different than emotional, or psychological, shock that can occur following a traumatic or frightening emotional event.

What are the types of shock?

Septic shock results from bacteria multiplying in the blood and releasing toxins. Common causes of this are pneumonia, intra-abdominal infections (such as a ruptured appendix) and meningitis.

Anaphylactic shock is a type of severe hypersensitivity or allergic reaction. Causes include allergy to insect stings, m...

Read the Shock (Medical) article »











Health categories:

Slideshows | Diseases & Conditions | Symptoms & Signs | Procedures & Tests | Medications | Image Collection | Medical Dictionary | Pet Health

Popular health centers:

Allergies | Arthritis | Blood Pressure | Cancer | Chronic Pain | Cold & Flu | Diabetes | Digestion | Eyesight | Health & Living | Healthy Kids

Hearing & Ear | Heart | Infectious Disease | Men's Health | Mental Health | News & Views | Pregnancy | Sexual Health | Skin | Women's Health | More...

MedicineNet.com:

About Us | Newsletters | RSS Feeds | Privacy Policy | Site Map | WebMD® | Medscape® | eMedicine® | eMedicineHealth® | RxList®

This website is certified by Health On the Net Foundation. Click to verify. This site complies to the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
verify here.

©1996-2010 MedicineNet, Inc. All rights reserved. Notices and Legal Disclaimer.
MedicineNet does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.